Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Mind Over Matter

Jodi carried a
steaming cup of coffee into the chilly garage. David stood at his workbench,
cutting a piece of wood with a power saw. She waited until he turned it off
before approaching.

“Hey there,” she
said, sliding up next to him. “How’s it coming?”

“Slow, but steady.”
David held up the half-finished project for her to see.

“Wow, I’m
impressed. I never had a boyfriend who knew how to build a birdhouse from
scratch before. You’re just full of surprises. By the way, this is for you.”
She held out the cup of coffee. “I figured you might be getting cold out here.”

David smiled and
reached for the cup. Just before he took it, Jodi sneezed, causing the hot
liquid to spill over his hand.

“Oh no! I’m so
sorry!” She quickly grabbed a shop towel and began to sop up the mess. “That
was really hot water. Do you have any burn spray?”

“No, but don’t
worry about it,” said David. “I’m fine.”

Jodi looked at him
as if he were crazy. “Fine? That water was boiling a minute ago. You’re hand
must be in horrible pain right now. How can you bear it?”

He smiled and gave
her a calming look. “Pain is all in your head, Jodi. I’ve spent many years
practicing meditation and learning to control my inner thoughts. Over time, I’ve
developed the ability to channel away pain so that it no longer dominates my mind.”

She let go of his
hand and moved closer, wrapping her arms around his waist “David, that’s the
most amazing thing I ever heard! I can’t believe how incredible you are. Is
there nothing you can’t do—wait a minute, did you just clamp your other hand in
that vice grip?”

David looked where she was staring. “Oh, that? Well… yes. You see, the best way to block pain
out from your mind is to create a bigger pain that is even more distracting.”

She thought about
this. “You mean, you stuck that hand in the vice grip so you wouldn’t feel the
burn… because the vice grip hurts more?”

David nodded.

“David, that’s
insane!” She broke her embrace and tried to open the grip, but it was clamped
too tight. “Your hand is turning purple! How are you supposed to ignore that?”

“Don’t worry,” he
said. “I’ve got it.”

She backed away
as he picked up a large hammer. Without another word, he held it upside down
and let it drop—right onto his foot.

“Ow!” David
yelped. With his hand still stuck in the vice, he began leaping on his good
foot. “There, you see? I don’t even feel the vice grip anymore.”

“But now your foot
is probably broken!” She stared helplessly. “How can you stand it?”

“It’s not a
problem,” he said. “Just hurry up and kick me in the groin!”